Quoth Ralph, Not far from hence doth dwell

A cunning man, hight Sidrophel,
That deals in Destiny's dark counfels,
And fage opinions of the Moon fells;
To whom all people, far and near,
On deep importances repair;
When brafs and pewter hap to stray,
And linen flinks out o' the way;
When geefe and pullen are feduc'd,
And fows of fucking pigs are chows'd;
When cattle feel indifpofition,
And need th' opinion of phyfician;
When murrain reigns in hogs or sheep,
And chickens languifh of the pip;

A total o'erthrow given the King
In Cornwall, horfe and foot, next spring?
And has not he point-blank foretold
Whatfoe'er the Clofe Committee would?
Made Mars and Saturn for the Cause,
The Moon for fundamental laws?
The Ram, the Bull, and Goat declare
Against the Book of Common-Prayer?
The Scorpion take the Proteftation,
And Bear engage for reformation?
Made all the Royal ftars recant,
Compound, and take the Covenant >

Th' intelligible world he knew,
And all men dream on 't to be true,
That in this world there's not a wart-
180 That has not there a counterpart ;

185

190

225

Nor can there on the face of ground
An individual beard be found
That has not, in that foreign nation,
A fellow of the felf-fame fashion;
So cut, fo colour'd, and fo curr'd,
As thofe are in th' inferior world.
He 'ad read Dee's prefaces before,
The Devil, and Euclid, o'er and o'er;
And all th' intrigues 'twixt lum and Kelly,
Leicus and th' Emperor, would tell ye :
But with the moon was more familiar
Than e'er was almanac well-willer;

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240

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200

Her fecrets understood fo clear,
That fome believ'd he had been there;
Knew when the was in fittest mood
For cutting corns, or letting blood;
When for anointing icabs or itches,
Or to the buin applying leeches;
When tows and bitches may be ipay'd,
And in what fign beit eyder 's made;

245

What 's ufeful of him before-hand.

That to the Ancients was unknown;

Quoth Hudibras, The cafe is clear
The Saints may employ a conjurer,
As thou haft prov'd it by their practice;
No argument like matter of fact is:
And we are beft of all led to
Men's principles by what they do.
Then let us trait advance in quest
Of this profound gymnofophift,
And, as the Fates and he advise,
Purfue or wave this enterprise.
This faid, he turn'd about his íteed,
And eftioons on th' adventure rid;
Where leave we him and Ralph awhile,
And to the conjurer turn our style,
To let our reader understand

Magic, horofcopy, astrology,
And was old dog at phyfiology;

But as a dog that turns the fpit

Beftirs himself, and plies his feet

To climb the wheel, but all in vain,
His own weight brings him down again,
And ftill he's in the felf-fame place
Where at his fetting out he was;

So in the circle of the arts

Did he advance his natural parts,
Till falling back still, for retreat,
He fell to juggle, cant, and cheat:
For as thofe fowls that live in water
Are never wet, he did but fmatter;
Whate'er he labour'd to appear,
His understanding still was clear;
Yet none a deeper knowledge boasted,
Since old Hodge Bacon, and Bob Grofted,

What factions they 'ave, and what they drive at

210

In public vogue, or what in private:

With what dengus and interefts

Each party manages conteits.

215

220

Ver. 224.] Roger Bacon, commonly called Friar Bacon, lived in the reign of our Edward I. and for fome little skill he had in the mathematicks, tvas by the rabble accounted a conjurer, and had the fottish ftory of the Brazen Head fathered upon him by the ignorant Monks of those days.

He made an intrument to know

If the moon the at full or no;
That would, as toon as e'er the thone, ftraight
Whether 'twere day or night demonitrate;
Tell what her diameter to an inch is,
And prove that the 's not made or green cheese.
It would demonitrate, that the man in
The moon's a fea Mediterranean;

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269

270

croachments upon the English church and nonarchy. He was perfecuted by Pope innocent, but it is not certain that he was deprived, though Bayle thinks he was.

Ver. 235.] Dee was a Welshman, and edu

Ibid.] Bishop Grofted was Bishop of Lincoln, 20th Henry III. A. D, 1235. "He was fufpect-cated at Oxford, where he commenced doctor and afterwards travelled into foreign parts, in "ed by the clergy to be a conjurer; for which "crime he was deprived by Pope Innocent IV. queft of chemistry, &'c. But this "and fummoned to appear at Rome." is a mistake; for the Pope's antipathy to him was occafioned by his frankly expoftulating with him (both perfonally and by letter) on his enVOL. IL

Ver. 238.] Albertus Lafcus, Lafky, or Alafco, Prince Palatine of Poland, concerned with Des and Kelly. 3[1]

Ver. 317. How many different specieles.] Species's in editions 1664, 1674, 1684. Altered to pecifes, 1699.

Ver. 325. Whachum.] Journeyman to Sidrophel, who was one Tom Jones, a toolith Welfhman. In a Key to a poem of Mr. Butler's, Whachum is faid to be one Richard Green, who publifhed a pamphlet of about five fheets of batc ribaldry, and called, Hudibras in a Snare. It was printed about the year 1667.

All trades run in as to the fight

Of monsters, or their dear delight
The gallows-trec, when cutting purfe
Breeds bufinefs for heroic verfe;

This faid, he to his engine flew,
Plac'd near at hand, in open view,

395

And rais'd it till it level'd right

Against the glow-worm tail of kite

450

Then peeping through, Blefs us! (quoth he)
It is a planet, now, I fee;

Which none does hear but would have hung
T' have been the theme of fuch a fong.
Thofe two together long had liv'd,
In manfion prudently contriv'd,
Where neither tree nor house could bar
The free detection of a ftar;
And nigh an ancient obelifk

Was rais'd by him, found out by Fisk,
On which was written, not in words,
But hieroglyphic mute of birds,
Many rare pithy faws, concerning
The worth of aftrologic learning:
From top of this there hung a rope,
To which he faften'd te efcope,
The fpectacles with which the stars
He reads in fmalleft characters.
It happen'd as a boy, one night,
Did fy his tarfel of a kite,

And, if I err not, by this proper

400 Figure, that's like tobacco-stopper,
It should be Saturn: yes, 'tis clear
'Tis Saturn; but what makes him there?
He's got between the Dragon's tail
And farther leg behind o' th' Whale;
405 Pray heaven divert the fatal omen,
For 'tis a prodigy not commen,
And can no lefs than the world's end,
Or Nature's funeral, portend.
With that he fell again to pry,

The ftrangeft long-wing'd hawk that flies, 415
Tha', like a bird of Paradife,

Or herald's martlet, has no legs,

Nor hatches young ones, nor lays eggs;
His train was fix yards long, milk-white,
At th' end of which there hung a light,
Inclos'd in lantern made of paper,
That far off like a ftar did appear:
This Sidrophel by chance efpy'd,
And with amazement ftaring wide,

Bleis us! quoth he, what dreadful wonder

410 Through perfpective, more wiftfully,
When, by mifchance, the fatal ftring,
That kept the towering fowl on wing,
Breaking, down fell the ftar. Well shot,
Quoth Whachum, who right wifely thought
He' ad level'd at a ftar, and hit it;
But Sidrophel, more fubtil-witted,
Cry'd out, What horrible and fearful-
Portent is this, to fe a ftar fall?
It threatens Nature, and the doom
Will not be long before it come !
When ftars do fall, 'tis plain enough
The day of judgment's not far off:
As lately 'twas reveal'd to Sedgwick,
And fome of us find out by magick;
Then, fince the time we have to live
In this world's thorten'd, let us strive
To make our beft advantage of it,
And pay our loties with our profit.
This feat fell out not long before

420

425

455

460

465

470

475

480

430 The Knight, upon the forenam'd fcore,
In queft of Sidrophel advancing,

485

Was now in profp. ct of the mansion;
Whom he difcovering, turned his glass,
And found far off t vas Hudibras.

I'm certain 'tis not in the fcrowl

Of all those beafts, and fifh, and fowl,
With which, like Indian plantations,
The learned ftock the conftellations;
Nor thofe that drawn for figns have been
To th' houfes where the planets inn.
It must be fupernatural,
Unless it be that cannot-ball

435

440

445

of

Ver. 404.] Mr. Butler alludes to one Fik, whom Lilly obferves, that he was a licentiate in phyfic, and born near Framlingham in Suffolk; was bred at a country fchool, and defign'd for the university, but went not thither, studying phyfic and aftrology at home, which afterwards he practifed at Colchester; after which he came to London, and practifed there.

Ver. 477. William Sedgwick, a whimfical enthufiaft, fometimes a Prefbyterian, fometimes an Independent, and at other times an Anabaptift; fometimes a prophet, and pretended to foretel things, out of the pulpit, to the deftruction of ignorant people; at other times pretended to revelations; and, upon pretence of a vifion that Doomfday was at hand, he retired to the house of Sir Francis Ruffel in Cambridgethire, and, finding feveral gentlemen at bowls, called upon them to prepare for their diffolution; telling them that he had lately received a revelation that doomiday would be fome day the week following. Upon which they ever after called him Doomsday Sedgwick.

Heheld a stirrup, while the Knight
From leathern Bare-bones did alight;
And taking from his hand the bridle,
Approach'd, the dark Squire to unriddle.
He gave him firft the time o' th' day,
And welcom'd him, as he might fay:
He afk'd him whence they came, and whither
Their business lay? Quoth Ralpho, Hither,
Did you not lofe Quoth Ralpho, Nay.
Quoth Whachum, Sir. I meant your way!
Your Knight, queth Ralpho, is a lover,
And pains intolerable doth fuffer;

For lovers' hearts are not their own hearts,
Nor lights, nor lungs, and fo forth downwards.
What time Quoth Ralpho, Sir too long,
Three years it off and on has hung.-

Quoth he, 1 meant what time o'the day tis
Quoth Ralpho, between feven and eight 'tis.
Why then (quoth Whachum) my small art
Tells me the dame has a hard heart,

495

500

510

Quoth Hudibras, You 're in the right,
But how the devil you came by 't

565

I can't imagine; for the stars
I'm fure, can tell no more than horse;
Nor can their afpects (though you pore
Your eyes out on them) tell you more
505 Than th' oracle of fieve and sheers,
That turns as certain as the fpheres;
But if the devil's of your counsel,
Much may be done, my noble Donzel;
And 'tis on this account I come,
To know from you my fatal doom.
Quoth Sidrophel, If you fuppofe,
Sir Knight, that I am one of thofe,
I might fufpect, and take th' alarm,
Your bufinefs is but to inform ;
But if it be, 'tis ne'er the near,
You have a wrong fow by the ear;
For I affare you, for my part,
I only deal by rules of art;
Such as are lawful, and judge by
Conclufion of aftrology;

Or great estate.-Quotho Ralpho, A jointer, 515
Which makes him have fo hot a mind t' her.
Meanwhile the Knight was making water,
Before he fell upon the matter;

579

575

580

Which having done, the Wizard steps in,

To give him fuitable reception;

520

But kept his business at a bav,

Til Whachum put him in the way;

But for the devil know nothing by him,
But only this, that I defy him.

585

Who having now, by Ralpho's light,
Expounded th' errand of the Knight,

And what he came to know, drew near,
To whifper in the conjurer's ear;
Which he prevented thus: What was 't,

525

Quoth he, that I was faying laft,

That are indeed but magic charms

Before thefe gentlemen arriv'd?

Quoth he, Whatever others deem ye,

I understand your metonymy;

Your words of fecond-hand intention,

When things by wrongful names you mention; 590
The myftic fenfe of all your terms,

To raise the devil, and mean one thing,

Quoth Whacoum, Venus you retriev'd

530

In oppofition with Mais,

And no benign and friendly stars
T'allay the effect. Quoth Wizard, So!
In Virgo? Ha! quoth Whachum, No:
Has Saturn nothing to do in it,
One tenth of's circle to a minute?
'Tis well, quoth he.-Sir, you'll excufe
This rudeness I am forc'd to use;
It is a fcheme and face of heaven,
As th' afpects are difpos'd this even,

I was contemplating upon
When you arriv'd; but now I've done,

Quoth Hudibras, If I appear

Unfeasonable in coming here
At fuch a time, to interrupt

535

And that is down-right conjuring;
And in itself more warrantable
Than cheat, or canting to a rabble,
Or putting tricks upon the moon,
Which by confederacy are done.
Your ancient conjurers were wont
To make her from her fphere difmount,
And to their incantation ftoop;

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600

They fcorn'd to pore through telescope,
Or idly play at bo-peep with her,